It’s a ‘fast forward’ to Seaside
Save the date for the 2003 Oregon State Bar Annual Meeting,
Sept. 18-20 in Seaside.

Events will kick off on Thursday afternoon
with a variety of CLE programs provided by the following
OSB sections: Constitutional Law, Consumer Law, Environmental & Natural
Resources, Health Law, Law Practice Management/Sole & Small
Firm Practitioners and Securities Law. Afterward will
be a dinner of steamer clams and microbrews at a 'Bonfire
and Blues' event on the beach.

Friday’s focus will be on two educational
tracks: litigation and legislation, including a keynote
address by Gov. Ted Kulongoski in the afternoon. The
President’s Awards Dinner will take place Friday evening,
followed by a variety show and fundraising event to
benefit the Oregon Law Foundation.

The 2003 Annual Meeting will conclude
on Saturday with the House of Delegates meeting.

Events will take place at the Seaside
Civic & Convention Center and Best Western Ocean
View Resort. Look for updates in future issues of Bar
News and on the bar’s website, www.oregonstatebar.org.

Many Oregon counties need volunteer mediatorsLast March, the Oregon Judicial Department suspended
processing all small claims cases statewide due to budget
cuts and the failure of Ballot Measure 28. This summer,
processing will resume for the delayed cases. Courts
across the state are facing a substantial backlog, and
many are recruiting volunteer mediators to help.

Volunteer mediation is a great way to
take a break from your practice, hone your mediation
skills and support your community. It will also qualify
as 'Other Volunteer Legal Services and Community
Service' for purposes of the voluntary pro bono
report you will be asked to give on your 2004 membership
fee statement.

If you have basic mediation training
and are interested in learning more about small claims
mediation in your area, please contact Erin Ruff, OJD
ADR analyst at (503) 986-4539 or erin.ruff@ojd.state.or.us,
or your local area mediation center or court.

PLF seeks lawyer for board positionThe Board of Directors of the Professional Liability
Fund is looking for one lawyer member to serve a five-year
term on the PLF Board of Directors beginning January
2004.

Directors attend approximately six two-day
board meetings a year, as well as various committee
meetings, and are also required to spend a considerable
amount of time reading board materials between meetings
and participating in telephone conference calls. PLF
policies prohibit directors and their firms from prosecuting
or defending claims against lawyers. Interested persons
should send a brief resume by July 11, 2003 to: Ira
R. Zarov, Professional Liability Fund, P.O. Box 1600,
Lake Oswego, Ore. 97035.

Discipline system needs volunteers
OSB members soon will receive the bar’s annual committee
preference form, which contains several opportunities
to serve as a volunteer in the lawyer discipline
system. The discipline system had a shortage of volunteers,
particularly outside of Multnomah County, in 2002.
Please consider making your preference known for
one of the following volunteer positions.

Local Professional Responsibility
Committees (LPRCs)There are 16 LPRCs around the
state made up of from five to 20 members. Each committee
is responsible
for investigating matters assigned to it by the OSB
disciplinary counsel’s office or the State Professional
Responsibility Board. As an LPRC member you will be
called on to act as a field investigator, interviewing
witnesses, gathering documents and submitting written
reports to the full committee on each case assigned
to you. The effectiveness of the bar’s disciplinary
system depends upon the quality and timeliness of LPRC
reports. The number of investigations you may be assigned
will vary depending on committee caseload.

Bar CounselThese volunteers work together with disciplinary
counsel staff in preparing and presenting formal charges
against an accused lawyer. While staff does much of
the litigation support, serving as bar counsel is nonetheless
a significant time commitment. Litigation experience
is required. You may be called upon to handle one or
two cases each year.

State Professional Responsibility
BoardThis nine-member board acts as the grand
jury in the discipline system, making probable cause
decisions on all complaints. The board meets monthly
and the workload is substantial. A very limited number
of vacancies occur each year on the SPRB.

Disciplinary BoardThree-member hearing panels are selected
from the disciplinary board, a group of Supreme Court
appointees divided into six regions. Hearings typically
take one to three days, after which written opinions
must be promptly rendered. Workload varies by region.

All of these volunteer opportunities
require a significant time commitment, and each part
of the disciplinary process must be performed in a
timely manner. If you are willing to devote the time
and energy necessary to make our disciplinary process
effective, mark your preference forms accordingly and
send them back to the bar center. The discipline system
needs your help.

Minority lawyers to hold auctionThe Oregon Minority Lawyers Association (OMLA) will
hold its Fourth Annual Auction and Raffle on Thursday,
June 19, at 5:30 p.m. The event will be held at the World
Trade Center, 121 S.W. Salmon St., Portland.

OMLA is a 501(c)(3) organization committed
to making the legal community of Oregon a welcoming
environment where people of all colors, races and ethnic
backgrounds can excel academically, professionally
and personally. Auction proceeds are applied to the
OMLA Oregon Bar Examination Preparation Course Scholarship
which is intended to contribute to the bar passage
rate of ethnic and racial minorities taking the Oregon
bar exam.

Corporate sponsors of this year’s auction
include Spirit Mountain Casino and Standard Insurance
Company. There is no charge for admission. For more
information or to RSVP, contact Anastasia Yu Meisner
at aym@guyermeisner.com or (503) 697-1035.

What types of volunteering for the bar have you done? Member of Law-Related Education, and Public Service and Information committees, Diversity Section and Oregon New Lawyers Division (ONLD) executive committee; active in numerous ONLD activities (e.g., high school essay contest, state fair booth, mock trial coach and judge, 'lawyer in the classroom,' representative to ABA’s Young Lawyers events); and presenter at CLE seminars and Bulletin author.

Why does it make a difference to serve as a bar volunteer? 'It gives me an opportunity to be a participatory member of the profession. It gives us a better public image — I’ve had people come up to me at the state fair or a Community Law Week legal information booth and actually tell me they felt better about lawyers knowing we were doing things like that. It gives me an opportunity to provide information and increase awareness and understanding of our legal system through direct interaction in the community as a ‘representative of lawyers.’ It helps connect me to the concept of a ‘profession’ instead of just a job.'

What was your most memorable volunteer experience? 'Working with a high school class, I picked two of the most quiet and withdrawn students to act as attorneys and argue a case. We studied the law that applied and they seemed to comprehend the issues, but I was concerned. Was I expecting too much by asking them to apply this new knowledge and think on their feet, speaking to a room full of people? When the day came, they were both amazing! They were quick on their feet and gave answers that were insightful and had an excellent comprehension of the law. On my last day, I asked the class what they felt they got out of the experience. One of the formerly withdrawn students raised her hand and said she had started to actively participate in all her classes because she had thought nothing could be more frightening than taking a position and having to defend it to lawyers, but since she had done it, she could do anything.'

How do you find time to volunteer? 'Time has become more and more precious as my practice has grown. Now I have to be more selective in where I put my energy, and try to focus on those things where I can make the most difference with the amount of time I put in.'

How did volunteering for Bar activities impact you? 'Five things: 1) It keeps me informed of what is happening in the bar; 2) It gives me opportunities to meet people I might otherwise not get to know, which has led to friendships, business and networking opportunities; 3) It gives me an opportunity to express myself in ways that aren’t possible in my daily practice; 4) It gives me an opportunity to connect directly with the community and people who don’t interact with the legal system; and 5) It helps to make me a better lawyer.'

MCBA CLE raises fundsMarion County Bar Association
raised funds for Fanconi Anemia Research Foundation from profits from its May
9, two-hour general CLE seminar
with Dave Frohnmayer, 'How the Trial Lawyer Can Benefit From the Discipline
of Appellate Advocacy.'

Approximately $1,000 was raised by admissions and donations.
If you wish to purchase a CD, DVD or VHS recording of the program, contact
Kirk Kindle of Capitol City Video, 335 Grove N.E., Salem Ore. 97303; phone:
(503) 371-7044; e-mail: ccvp@comcast.net. Cost for the recording and handout
is $40 for MCBA members, $50 for non-members. The cost is $25 is you attended
the seminar.

For more information, contact Tom Elden at (503) 378-4732.

CPA/Attorney seminarThe Oregon Society of Certified
Public Accountants and the Oregon State Bar Joint Attorney/CPA Committee plan
a continuing legal education seminar, 'Professional
Conduct & Ethics—Building Bridges and Understanding Between the Accounting
and Legal Profession' on June 24.

The course, designed for both CPAs and attorneys, offers an opportunity
to contrast the differing ethical considerations and obligations of the two
professions, including conflict of interest rules, privilege and confidentiality.
This CLE will provide information that will help participants to understand
the perspective of the other profession and better serve clients.

The program will be held from noon to 5 p.m. at the Kingstad
Meeting Center in Beaverton. Application has been maide for 2 general and 3
ethics CLE credits.

For more information on this CLE and to register, please contact
the Oregon Society of CPAs at (503) 641-7200 x 3 or register online at www.orcpa.org/cpa/
prodev.asp. The cost is $135.